Fluid control and conditioning units for insertion in fluid lines

ABSTRACT

A fluid control or conditioning unit with inlet and outlet ports, and more particularly a filter, pressure regulator and/or mist lubricator incorporated in a compressed air line, adapted to be positioned between supply and delivery pipes; and means having ports which register with those in the unit and are adapted to receive the ends of the pipes and act as coupling means therefor so that the ends of the pipes have no direct connection with the unit. The unit has plane external faces into which its inlet and outlet ports open and the ports in the said means also open into plane faces which oppose those of the unit, provision being included for sealing the ports of the unit with those of the coupling means and for securing the unit in sealed relation to the coupling means. Thus one and the same unit may be used with pipe ends of different size of type, and more particularly in the case of screw-threaded pipe ends and screw-threaded ports in the coupling means, one and the same unit may be used with threaded pipe ends of different size or type of thread by selection of the coupling means from a range. The combination is preferably such that the unit or one of a plurality of units in series may be withdrawn substantially by movement perpendicular to the axis of the ports without moving or removing the coupling members and preferably while a valve unit, likewise having plane faces into which its ports open, remains fixed to the coupling means for shut-off of flow during removal of a unit.

United States Patent [19] Pass et al.

451 June 26, 1973 1 FLUID CONTROL AND CONDITIONING UNITS FOR INSERTIONIN FLUID LINES [75] Inventors: Peter John-Pass; Douglas Wesley'-- Carr,both of Shipston-on-Stour; Rogers Knight, London; Ronald Gelder, MoretonMorrell; Leslie William Smith, Shipston-on-Stour; Leonard FrederickHarris,

Shipston-on-Stour; Karel Leon August Van Bastelaere, Shipston-on-Stour,all of England [73] Assignee: C. A. Norgren Limited,

Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire, England 221 Filed: Sept. 13,1971

21 Appl. No.:'180,037

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data 4 Sept. 21, 19 70 Great Britain44,876/70 {52] US. Cl. 137/269, 137/798 [51] Int. Cl. F16k 11/10 [58]Field of Search 137/269, 271, 798,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,513,876 5/1970 TarbOX137/269 X 3,589,387 6/1971 Raymond... 137/271 3,180,357 4/1965 Galley137/495 X 3,117,587 1/1964 ,'Willinger 137/271 X 1,827,470 10/1931Harrison et a1. 137/269 3,024,801 Carls 137/271 Primary Examiner-HenryT. Klinksiek Assistant Examiner-Robert J. Miller Attorney-Sheridan, Rossand Fields 571 ABSTRACT A fluid control or conditioning unit with inletand outlet ports, and more particularly'a filter, pressure regula- I torand/or mist lubricator incorporated in a compressed airline, adapted tobe positioned between supply and delivery pipes; and means having portswhich register with those in the unit andare adapted to receive the endsof the pipes and act as coupling means therefor so that the ends of thepipes have no direct connection with the unit. The unit has planeexternal faces into which its inlet and outlet ports open and the portsin the said means also open into plane faces which oppose those of theunit, provision being included. for

sealing the ports of the unit with those of the coupling means and forsecuring the unit in sealed relation to the coupling means. Thus one andthe same unit may be used with pipe ends of different size of type, andmore particularly in the case of screw-threaded pipe ends andscrew-threaded ports in the coupling means, one

and the same unit may be used with threaded pipe ends of different sizeor type of thread by selection of the coupling means from a range. Thecombination is preferably such that the unit or one of a plurality ofunits in series may be withdrawn substantially by movement perpendiculartothe axis of the ports without moving or removing the coupling membersand preferably while a valve unit, likewisehaving plane faces into iwhich its ports open, remains fixed to the coupling means for shut-offof flow during removal of a unit.

18 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures 3/1968 Flint 137/271 X PATENTED JUN 26 I973SHEET 1 [IF 4 PAIENTEBauuzs ms SHEET b [IF 4 This invention relates tofluid control and conditioning units, such as valves, filters, pressureregulators, mist lubricators and the like, of the type which are adaptedto be arranged in a fluid line, and more particularly a compressed airline, by coupling opposite sides thereof to pipe ends in the line. Theseunits are customarily formed with inlet and outlet ports on oppositesides, the ports being threaded and forming the female components forconnection with the male screw ends of pipes in the line.

The size of pipe and the diameter and type of thread on the pipe towhich a unit or units is or are to be fitted may vary considerably. Forexample, any such unit may require female components with an'internalthread diameter to be chosen from any four sizes from between one-fourthinch and three-fourths inch and perhaps from four types of thread, e.g.,B.S.P. taper, B.S.P. parallel B.S.P. parallel with spot face and N.P.T.(American thread). Therefore the manufacturer may have to stock perhapssixteen versions of any one unit, each differing from the other only inthe diameter or type of the port threads, and where a still wider rangeof sizes and type of thread is involved a still larger number ofdifferent units may need to be kept in stock. The-range in question maybe of a higher or lower value.

The invention aims at providing a modular construction of unit which maybe readily adapted to any selected size or type of pipe thread within anoverall range, although the advantages aimed at are not confined toscrew thread couplings and may be obtained with other types ofcouplings.

The invention accordingly provides a fluid control or conditioning unitfor connection between supply and delivery pipes, in which inlet andoutlet ports of the unit open respectively into oppositely facingexternal sealing faces, in combination with pipe coupling means havingports which register with those in the unit and are adapted to receivethe ends of the pipes so that the ends of the pipe have no directconnection with the unit, the ports in said means opening into sealingfaces which oppose those of the unit, means for sealing the ports of theunit with those of the said pipe coupling means and means for securingthe unit in sealed relation to said pipe coupling means.

More specifically the invention provides a fluid control or conditioningunit for connection between supply and delivery pipes, in which inletand outlet ports of the unit open respectively into oppositely facingexternal sealing faces, in combination with pipe coupling means havingscrew-threaded ports which register with those in the unit and areadapted to receive screw-threaded ends of the pipes, the ports in saidmeans opening into sealing faces thereof which oppose those of the unit,means for securing the coupling means and the unit and means for sealingthe ports of the unit with those of the coupling means, whereby one andthe same unit may be secured to threaded pipe ends of different size ortype by selection of the coupling means from a range.

Such sealing faces may be plane faces and one or both of each pair ofplane opposing faces may house an annular sealing ring, e.g., in anannular groove, around its port for sealing communicating ports in thecoupling means and the unit, and this promotes sealing with little or norelative axial movement between the unit and the coupling means.

The unit and the coupling means may be secured with the plane faces ofthe unit and opposed plane faces of the coupling means in close orcontacting relationship sealed to one another around the ports and theunit arranged to be releasable from the coupling means and withdrawabletherefrom by displacement perpendicularly to the axis of the ports inthe unit while the plane faces of the unit and the plane faces of thecoupling means remain in close or contacting relationship so that nounscrewing of the unit and consequent axial displacement thereof isrequired for the removal of the unit. Thus an axially compact assemblyis possible and this can be constructed so that a unit can be removed,e.g., for cleaning, inspection or repair, with little or no displacementof the coupling means and the pipes and little or no displacement of theunit in the axial direction of its ports.

The coupling means may comprise separate members, e.g., in plate-likeform, each with a screw threaded through-port for axial alignment withaxially alignedports in the unit and for direct sealing with the unit,although these members may be fixedly mounted and virtually form onecomponent.

The ports in the coupling means need not necessarily connect with thepipes in line withthe axis of the ports in the unit, but could be formedto connect with the pipes at an angle or abaxially in relation to theaxis of the ports in the unit, or separate mounting members withscrew-threaded ports could be connected and sealed to membershavingplain ports.

The securing means may exert a clamping action on the unit and acorrespondingcompressive action on the sealing rings, e.g., by theprovision of appropriate securing means such as tie bolts.

It is frequently desired to arrange a number of different units, say anair filter unit, a pressure regulator unit and/or a fog-lubricating unitin series in the compressed air line. Two or more such units may bearranged in line with their ports sealed in axial alignment; thecoupling means providing plane ported faces one at each end of theplurality of units with their sealing ports in the same alignment andtheir faces facing the units in the same parallelism.

A valve may be provided having sealing faces into which its ports open,the valve being secured with its ports registering with the ports in thecoupling means and the unit or units and sealed to the said ports sothat flow through the unit or units can be stopped or controlled, e.g.,when a unit is to be inserted or withdrawn.

If it is desired that the sealing means exert a clamping action on theunit or units there will in general be sufficient freedom forlongitudinal movement in the pipe line to enable the units to be clampedor released. The amount of relative axial movement, if any, necessaryfor the insertion or withdrawal of a unit need be only .very small andthe coupling means formed as separate terminal members may be mounted tohave some small movement in the direction of the axis of the ports inthe unit or units.

The coupling members may be designed for bolting to a suitable supportsurface and one or both of them may be permitted some movement in theaxial direction of an assembly, e.g., by providing slots for theirfixing bolts.

The coupling members need be the only variables in the system, and canbe economically manufactured so as to be capable of being compactlystacked for stock purposes in different groups from which a selectioncan be made according to the size and typeof pipe screw to beaccommodated. 1 There is no difficulty in aligning coupling members andunits, and where two or more units are mounted between two end couplingmembers and secured faceto-face, the overall length is considerablyreduced as compared with normal design where coupling connections haveto be interposed as projections between units, yet the coupling membersand the units can be effectively sealed and may be formed into a tightassembly by clamping them together. Where the units are of a plasticsmaterial they may be placed in a state of compression by the clampingoperation and the bursting strength increased.

The coupling members may be constructed withsuitable mounting holes.

The modular construction also tends to open the way to a wider choice inthe materials used for the units. In many cases it is highly desirablefor the units to be basically produced of a plastics, and moreparticularly of a thermoplastics, material, but the need to providescrew threads in the units often militates against the use of suchmaterials. When however, the units are constructed in the modularfashion according to this invention, and inasmuch as they require nothreads for connection in the pipe line, they may be moulded orotherwise formed of such materials and the members through which thescrew connections are made to the pipes may be made of any suitablemetallic material.

Especially when a series of units are to be secured in series, theoverall length of the series and the space occupied thereby can bereduced and the more accurately calculated because of the elimination ofprojecting coupling connections and of the avoidance of threadtolerances.

The co-operating faces of the units and the coupling members may be of asquare or rectangular oblong form and the units may be designed on asquare or rectangular section pattern or at least assembly bodiesthereof so constructed, but the said co-operating faces and the generalexternal shape of the unit may be of any suitable formation, e.g., withside bosses for the tie rods where such are employed, or so that thefront faces of the units are rectangular to provide a neat generallyrectangular form of the assembly as seen from the front face thereof.

The, units may, if desired, be mounted squarely in relation to a base,wall or manifold and can be readily individually detached.

If a diameter differential between co-operating ports in a couplingmember and a unit would interfere with a desired flow, suitable inserts,e.g., of plastics, could be provided, if desired appropriately shaped toprovide a gradual change from one diameter to another.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, reference ishereinafter made to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments ofthe invention are illustrated by way of example with separate couplingmembers and in which FIG. 1 shows an assembly of units according to theinvention and FIG. 2 a face view and FIG. 3 sectional elevation of oneof the coupling members.

FIG. 4 shows a unit tor and FIG. 5 is a section of a pressure regulator.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view with a modified form of the coupling membersand FIG. 7 shows another form of coupling member which is adapted to beused with an associated mounting member or sub-base which is threaded toreceive the pipe.

In the assembly, FIG. 1, the unit 1 is a shut off valve, the unit 2 anair filter, the unit 3 a pressure regulator and the unit 4 amist-lubricator. Insofar as concerns the working of these units, theyare constructed along conventional lines. They may work in the manner ofthe well known Norgren units for air-filtration, pressure regulating andmist-lubrication.

The units are shown assembled in an air line, being connected to aninlet pipe 5 and an outlet pipe 6.

The body 7 of each unit is in the illustrated embodiment, of a generallyrectangular section. The rectangular cross-section of the body 7 of theregulator unit is shown in FIG. 5 and the body of each other unit is ofthe same generally rectangular form. Each said unit is formed withrectangular plane end faces 8. FIG. 4 shows by way of example a mistlubricator the body 7 of which is provided with such plane end faces 8.The unit is formed with an inlet port 9 and outlet port 10 which are ofplain bore (unthreaded) form and open into the faces 8. The other unitsare similarly formed in this respect. The working of the lubricator iswell known and need not be described in detail, the airflow from inletto outlet having the effect of sucking lubricant from the bowl 11,through a syphon tube 11a and deliveringan oil mist which can besupplied to various parts of machinery to be lubricated. The air filterunit 2 again may operate conventionally in delivering filtered airthrough the pressure regulator unit 3 to the lubricator.

The regulator unit may comprise a loading spring which is unloaded whenthe regulator valve is closed but which by means of an adjusting screwcan be loaded to open the valve through a diaphragm or piston, the airpressure on the side of the diaphragm or piston opposite the springbeing connected to the outlet port so that regulated pressure is exertedon the diaphragm or piston compressing the adjusting spring until theload exerted by the spring is equal to the load exerted by the regulatedpressure.

Any such unit may be secured between end coupling plates 12 (hereinafterdescribed) or as shown in FIG. 1, a series of units may be securedface-to-face in sealed engagement with one another by means of the endcoupling plates 12. The end coupling plates 12 are of rectangular shape(see FIGS. 2 and 3) and approximate to the cross-section of the body 7of each unit. They may be releasably bolted to a suitable support.

The coupling plates are each provided with a through-port 13 which isscrew-threaded at 14 through the whole or part of its length and forms afemale screw to receive a screwed end of the inlet pipe 5 or outlet pipe6. Each coupling plate has plane faces 15 one of which faces the face 8of the adjacent unit when adjacent faces 8 of the units are inface-to-face relation with each other. The units have no screwconnection to the in the form of an oil-mist lubricainlet or outletpipes, but only the coupling plates 12 screw to the pipes.

The unit or units is or are secured between the coupling plates by meansof bolts 16 which pass through holes 17, see FIG. 5 which show the holesin the pressure regulator, similar holes being arranged, to registerwith those in the pressure regulator, in the other units and thecoupling plates being also provided with corresponding holes 17a. Thebolts may be headed bolts secured by nuts 18, or bolts secured by nutsat each end.

Between each pair of co-operating faces 8 and 8 or 8 and a seal 19 isprovided which may take the form of an O-ring or be of other suitableform and is set into an annular groove 20 in one of the co-operatingfaces or retained by other suitable means.

Thus, when the bolts 16 are secured, a tight axial assembly of couplingplates and units is obtained with the elements of the assembly inface-to-face relationship if desired with the sealing rings compressed,so that little or no change in the axial flow direction occurs acrossthe junction between the units and the coupling members or betweenadjacent units.

The units may be formed with arrow-like formations A to indicate flowdirection. The assembly may be turned through 180 about a vertical axisto provide reverse flow direction and arrow-like formations may beprovided on opposite faces for indicating reverse flow as viewed fromthe same aspect when the assembly is so turned.

Although the tie rods are shown in the drawings with their axes as seenin end view at 3 oclock and 9 oclock on a horizontal line and a unit maybe turned through 180, they may be otherwise arranged, e.g., on adiagonal line at say 2 oclock and 8 oclock and so that if two furtherholes are provided in the unit, e.g., in the regulator unit clear of theoperating mechanism thereof, the unit may be turned through 90. This maybe desirable, e.g., in the case of the regulator to bring the controlscrew thereof into a horizontal and more convenient position forhandling.

In the exploded view, FIG. 6, 6a in which FIG. 6 is the left hand end ofthe assembly and FIG. 6a the right hand end, the parts corresponding tothose shown in the figures previously referred to are given the samereference numerals. This figure shows the shut-off valve unit 1 ashaving threaded holes 21 and the coupling members 12a as havingregistering holes 22 so that the valve unit can be bolted to thecoupling member 12a by bolts 23 and 23a. Thus the valve can be closedand remained fixed to a said coupling member when other of the units arerequired to be removed.

The coupling members in this figure are of a tee-form with holes 24 inthe Tee head to enable said members tobe bolted to a suitable backmounting. The'holes 24 could be in the form of slots to receive fixingbolts and permit displacement of the members in the axial direction ofthe assembly.

In FIG. 7 a Tee type of coupling member is shown with an oblique flowpassage 25. This is suitable where an inlet and/or outlet air line ismore conveniently arranged by being brought into a mounting plate orsubbase 26 instead of directly axially into the coupling member. Thesub-base may be in any suitable form,

e.g., a casting. Although the screw-end of the pipe is shown in FIG. 7co-axial with the adjacent end of the port in the coupling member, thescrew-end of the pipe may enter the mounting plate or sub-base at anangle, I

e.g., a right angle or abaxially to that end of the said port and make asuitable angular junction therewith. In such a case separate mountingplate members or subbases may be provided from which a selection may bemade according to the size and thread of the pipe to be accommodated.The bolt passages are indicated at 27 and this figure also shows thatthey may be on a diagonal line, see the passages 27a if the units of theassembly have similarly arranged tie bolt passages.

It should be observed that when the clamping bolts are tightened theremay be some shortening of the overall length of the assembly, and whileone pipe may be secured in position after clamping the assembly, thiswould generally not be necessary even in embodiments such as are shownFIG. 1 to 6 as there is usually a certain amount of longitudinalmovement allowed in a pipe line. However, the sealing rings may becompressed sufficiently by the insertion of the unit perpendicularly tothe axis of the ports therein, in which case the coupling means may befixed or form a unit.

In the forms depicted in FIGS. 1 to 6, the air line entry port is in theaxial direction, but the entry or exit port of the coupling member maybe at the top or bottom or from either side of the coupling member. Itis not necessary that the coupling member at the outlet end should be ofthe same form as that at the inlet end.

It is to be understood that the assembly may be arranged in other than ahorizontal position, e.g., vertically or at a suitable inclination.

In a multiple unit assembly, and with the aim of facilitating theremoval of any selected unit, one of the units, e.g., a medial unit mayhave threaded passages and the tie rods made in two sections withthreaded adjacent ends screwed into the said unit, but various ways areavailable of securing the units and the coupling members together.

What is claimed is:

l. A fluid control or conditioning unit for connection between supplyand delivery pipes, comprising inlet and outlet ports and oppositelyfacing external sealing faces into which the said ports openrespectively, in combination with means having ports which register withthose in the unit and are adapted to receive the ends of the pipes andact as coupling means therefor so that the ends of the pipes have nodirect connection with the unit, the ports in said coupling meansopening into sealing faces which oppose those of the unit, means forsealing the ports of the unit with those of the coupling means, andmeans for securing the unit in sealed relation to the coupling means.

2. A fluid control or conditioning unit for connection between supplyand delivery pipes having screwthreaded ends, comprising inlet andoutlet ports and oppositely facing external sealing faces into whichsaid ports open, in combination with pipe coupling means havingscrew-threaded ports which register with those in the unit and areadapted to receive the screwthreaded ends of the pipes, the ports insaid coupling means opening into sealing faces thereof which opposethose of the unit, means for securing the unit and the coupling meanstogether and means for sealing the ports of the unit with those of thecoupling means, whereby one and the same unit may be used with threadedpipe ends of different size or type of thread by selection of thecoupling means from a range.

3. The combination according to claim 1, in which said sealing faces areplane faces and the unit and the coupling means are secured with theplane faces of the unit and the opposed plane faces of the couplingmeans in close or contacting relationship, said sealing means sealingsaid faces to one another around the ports, the

' unit being releasable from the coupling means and at least two suchunits having sealing faces which are,

plane and in parallelism and their ports in axial alignment, thecoupling means having sealing faces which are also plane and in the sameparallelism and with their ports opening into said plane faces thereofin the same alignment.

7. The combination according to claim 1, comprising a valve having inletand outlet ports and having opposite facing sealing faces into whichsaid ports respectively open, means for securing the valve with itsports in alignment with the ports in the coupling means and the adjacentunit and sealed to the said ports, so that flow through the unit canbestopped or controlled.

8. The combination according to claim 7, in which the valve is securedto the coupling means so that a unit can be removed while the valveremains connected to the coupling means. v

9. The combination according to claim '1, in which the coupling meanscomprise separate members mounted one at o ppositelends of at least oneof said units.

10. The combination according to claim 9, in which the coupling membersserve as mounting members.

11. The combination according to claim 1 in which at least one of saidunits and the coupling members are connected by tie rods. v

12. The combination according to claim 9, in which at least one of thecoupling members has a throughport which is screw threaded and is inalignment with the ports in the unit.

13. The combination according to claim 9, in which at least one of thecoupling members comprises a plane ported member associated with aseparate mounting member having a port which is screwthreaded to formthe female component of the screw pipe connection and permits entry toor outlet from the coupling member in a direction angularly or abaxialin relation to the axis of the ports in at least one of the units.

14. The combination according to claim 9, in which the coupling membersare of plate-like form for compact stacking with others.

15. The method of assembling a fluid control or conditioning unit in afluid line, wherein the unit has ports opening into external oppositelyfacing sealing faces thereof, which consists in selecting pipe couplingmeans having ports adapted to conform respectively to the end of asupply pipe and the end of a delivery pipe and opening into externalsealing faces of said coupling means, connecting the unit and the saidcoupling means so that each sealing face of the unit faces a sealingface of the said coupling means and so that the ports of said couplingmeans are sealed in relation to the adjacent ports in the unit, andsecuring the pipes to the ports in said coupling means to facilitateconnecting a standard unit to pipes of different size or type bycoupling means selected from a range of sizes.

16. The method according to claim 15, in which the ports in the couplingmeans are formed by screwthreaded bores and the co-operating ends of thepipes are correspondingly externally screw-threaded.

17. The method according to claim 15, in which said unit is releasablysecured and said unit is withdrawable substantially soley bydisplacement perpendicular to the axis of the ports while the couplingmeans remain in connection with the pipes.

18 The method according to claim 16 in which the coupling means areadapted for screwing to at least'one of the pipes in a direction at anangle to, or abaxial to,

theaxis of the ports in the unit.

1. A fluid control or conditioning unit for connection between supplyand delivery pipes, comprising inlet and outlet ports and oppositelyfacing external sealing faces into which the said ports openrespectively, in combination with means having ports which register withthose in the unit and are adapted to receive the ends of the pipes andact as coupling means therefor so that the ends of the pipes have nodirect connection with the unit, the ports in said coupling meansopening into sealing faces which oppose those of the unit, means forsealing the ports of the unit with those of the coupling means, andmeans for securing the unit in sealed relation to the coupling means. 2.A fluid control or conditioning unit for connection between supply anddelivery pipes having screw-threaded ends, comprising inlet and outletports and oppositely facing external sealing faces into which said portsopen, in combination with pipe coupling means having screw-threadedports which register with those in the unit and are adapted to receivethe screw-threaded ends of the pipes, the ports in said coupling meansopening into sealing faces thereof which oppose those of the unit, meansfor securing the unit and the coupling means together and means forsealing the ports of the unit with those of the coupling means, wherebyone and the same unit may be used with threaded pipe ends of differentsize or type of thread by selection of the coupling means from a range.3. The combination according to claim 1, in which said sealing faces areplane faces and the unit and the coupling means are secured with theplane faces of the unit and the opposed plane faces of the couplingmeans in close or contacting relationship, said sealing means sealingsaid faces to one another around the ports, the unit being releasablefrom the coupling means and withdrawable therefrom by displacementperpendicularly to the axis of the ports in the unit.
 4. The combinationto claim 1, in which the unit is any one of an air filter unit, anair-pressure regulating unit or a mist lubricating unit incorporated ina compressed air line.
 5. The combination according to claim 1,incorporating a plurality of said units in series, said units being anair filter unit, and an air-regulating and mist lubricating unit allwith their ports in axial alignment.
 6. The combination according toclaim 1, comprising at least two such units having sealing faces whichare plane and in parallelism and their ports in axial alignment, thecoupling means having sealing faces which are also plane and in the sameparallelism and witH their ports opening into said plane faces thereofin the same alignment.
 7. The combination according to claim 1,comprising a valve having inlet and outlet ports and having oppositefacing sealing faces into which said ports respectively open, means forsecuring the valve with its ports in alignment with the ports in thecoupling means and the adjacent unit and sealed to the said ports, sothat flow through the unit can be stopped or controlled.
 8. Thecombination according to claim 7, in which the valve is secured to thecoupling means so that a unit can be removed while the valve remainsconnected to the coupling means.
 9. The combination according to claim1, in which the coupling means comprise separate members mounted one atopposite ends of at least one of said units.
 10. The combinationaccording to claim 9, in which the coupling members serve as mountingmembers.
 11. The combination according to claim 1 in which at least oneof said units and the coupling members are connected by tie rods. 12.The combination according to claim 9, in which at least one of thecoupling members has a through-port which is screw threaded and is inalignment with the ports in the unit.
 13. The combination according toclaim 9, in which at least one of the coupling members comprises a planeported member associated with a separate mounting member having a portwhich is screw-threaded to form the female component of the screw pipeconnection and permits entry to or outlet from the coupling member in adirection angularly or abaxial in relation to the axis of the ports inat least one of the units.
 14. The combination according to claim 9, inwhich the coupling members are of plate-like form for compact stackingwith others.
 15. The method of assembling a fluid control orconditioning unit in a fluid line, wherein the unit has ports openinginto external oppositely facing sealing faces thereof, which consists inselecting pipe coupling means having ports adapted to conformrespectively to the end of a supply pipe and the end of a delivery pipeand opening into external sealing faces of said coupling means,connecting the unit and the said coupling means so that each sealingface of the unit faces a sealing face of the said coupling means and sothat the ports of said coupling means are sealed in relation to theadjacent ports in the unit, and securing the pipes to the ports in saidcoupling means to facilitate connecting a standard unit to pipes ofdifferent size or type by coupling means selected from a range of sizes.16. The method according to claim 15, in which the ports in the couplingmeans are formed by screw-threaded bores and the co-operating ends ofthe pipes are correspondingly externally screw-threaded.
 17. The methodaccording to claim 15, in which said unit is releasably secured and saidunit is withdrawable substantially soley by displacement perpendicularto the axis of the ports while the coupling means remain in connectionwith the pipes.
 18. The method according to claim 16 in which thecoupling means are adapted for screwing to at least one of the pipes ina direction at an angle to, or abaxial to, the axis of the ports in theunit.